THE MIDDLEMAN 1.10 - "The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation"

Writer: Andy Reaser
Director: Sandy Smolan

Cast: Natalie Morales (Wendy Watson), Matt Keeslar (The Middleman), Mary Pat Gleason (Ida), Brit Morgan (Lacey Thornfield), Jake Smollett (Noser), Drew Tyler Bell (Pip), Annabelle Milne (Jamie), Boris Kievsky (Oliver), Fred Ochs (Chaplain), Scarlett Chorvat (Irena Dubrovna), Sadie Stratton (Elizabeth Rousset), John O'Brien (Newscaster), Gideon Emery (Vladdy), Sean Davis (Joe 90), Jason Chambers (Anvil), Steve Valentine (Nikolas Pherides), Vic Chao (Dr. Judd) & Rob Nagle (Renfield Rehnquist)

The Middleman
If you want to help Mr. Noser right now, you'll dedicate yourself
-- mind, body, and soul -- to preventing undead creatures of the
night from rising from the grave to suck him dry.

Wendy
You don't talk to other humans much, do you?

While it's still great to see The Middleman keeping its characters central -- the teaser finds Wendy (Natalie Morales) discussing Lacey's (Brit Morgan) sex dreams about her ex-boyfriend Pip (Drew Tyler Bell) -- "The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation" is unfortunately very muddled and doesn't do justice to a fun idea…

In this Child's Play-style episode, The Middleman (Matt Keeslar) is out to stop the spirit of Vlad The Impaler regaining physical form. It turns out the real-life inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (evidently a real vampire) was imprisoned inside his ventriloquist puppet Little Vladdy after his death. Now, centuries later, he's making a bid for freedom by controlling the body of an auctioneer selling Vlad memorabilia.

The simple idea of a puppet controlling the body of its puppeteer is an enjoyable twist on the "haunted doll" idea -- most famously portrayed in Magic (1978) and the aforementioned Child's Play/Chucky films. Writer Andy Reaser definitely finds himself an imaginative, oddly humorous and slightly creepy idea -- but the script doesn't push much beyond your own imagination. There's not enough vampirism on display and the solution to the problem is too swift and easy considering we're dealing with "Dracula".

Most bothersome is how the sub-plots prove distracting, and strain to eventually connect with the A-story. I have a lot of affection for Brit Morgan's appealing performances as Lacey, but this episode asks us to accept she suddenly has a strange affection for Pip -- the dislikable ex-boyfriend of her best-friend Wendy, whose actions in previous episodes have been reprehensible. It all smacks of the writers being forced to hook up two characters (no matter how unlikely) because there just isn't time to introduce someone new for Lacey. Even worse, the Lacey/Pip coupling is over with by the time the credits roll, so the whole thing just made Lacey look silly and easily swayed by good-looks. To compensate slightly, the Lacey and The Middleman's "true love" is returned to in earnest, but it's too little too late.

The disappearance of Noser (Jake Smollett) is another aspect of the episode that didn't work -- as Lacey and Pip are trying to find out why the bohemian guitarist has vanished. Unbelievably, his story ties in with the Vlad storyline by revealing Noser's a closet ventriloquist of great fame. Sorry, but that just didn't click for me. I'm willing to bet Noser's convenient hobby is never mentioned ever again on the show, as it was purely in service to this episode.

Still, " The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation" has some memorable moments. The sudden possession of a kooky Tarot card reader at a party was amusing, there were the usual smattering of witticisms throughout, a sequence involving Little Vladdy transforming into a bat and dragging his puppeteer into the sky was delightfully bonkers, and the endearing performances continue to prevent The Middleman from becoming a bore.

After such a strong run of episodes recently, this is an unfortunate return to the haphazard tone that typified earlier stories, but its entertaining premise and several quirky moments keep it watchable.


18 August 2008
ABC Family, 10/9c pm